Computer-Mediated Communication Introduction to Collective Action and Public Goods
Computer-Mediated Communication Today Preparing for Assn2: Project research! Short wrap-up of reputation discussion Introduction to collective action and public goods 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Another side of reputation… “ Internet markets also have significant advantages in establishing reputations … any information that is gleaned can be near costlessly tallied on a continuing basis … [and] that information can be near costlessly transmitted to millions of potential customers. — Resnick et al. 2006, p. 80 ” In other words, all that privacy stuff keeps coming back up, especially when reputations are inferred based on prior activity. 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication The CMC and ‘Offline’ Reputation Link: Emergent Reputation Systems and Identity 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
As designers, what can we learn from all of this? What kind of community do you have (or are you trying to foster)? When and Why to use Pos/Neg/Mixed/Hybrid Reputation Systems? What behavior(s) do you want to encourage, reward, punish? Consider the “unintended consequences” of implicit information Just because you build a system to be interpreted a certain way doesn’t mean that the user will agree… 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication Core Concepts Collective Action Public Goods Free-Rider Problem 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication Collective Action 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication More generally, collective action consists of actions taken by two or more people for the same collective good. Collective Action 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Key Characteristics of Public Goods Non-Excludability Non-Rival Goods (Jointness of Supply) 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication The Tragedy of the “Commons” 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication Cornucopia of the Commons? (Bricklin 2001) 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication “Public Good” 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
The Free-Rider Problem Individual interests tend to make non-contribution tempting, especially if other people will do the work. In collective action, we can view this as an n-person prisoner’s dilemma …but more on that later 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Privileged Groups as Solution 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Selective Incentives as Solution 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Free-Riding and the Logic of Collective Action “If all individuals refrained from doing A, every individual as a member of the community would derive a certain advantage. But now if all individuals less one continue refraining from doing A, the community loss is very slight, whereas the one individual doing A makes a personal gain far greater than the loss that he incurs as a member of the community.” (Pareto 1935, vol. 3, sect. 1496, pp. 946-7) 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication “I guess I will never vote again… unless of course no one else is voting.” – Deepti Chittamuru (2007) 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” (Hobbes 1651) 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication “The Leviathan” The argument that Hobbes makes is that “The State” must be created to solve the rampant, unrestrained self-interest of individuals 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
But is Self-Interest Always Negative? We tend to think of people taking advantage of others…spare the air day… but are there situations where self-interest might not be so cleanly black/white? 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Collective Action and the Hobbesian “War of All Against All” Under what conditions will cooperation emerge in a world of egoists without central authority? 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Collective Action and Group Size Smaller groups tend to have a better chance of producing a public good (Olson 1965) Why? More benefits for each person Larger impact of any single contribution Generally, lower costs of organization 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
But what about REALLY big groups? Analyzing and Visualizing the Semantic Coverage of Wikipedia and Its Authors (Holloway, Bozicevic and Borner 2005) http://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0512085 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Self-Interest in Small versus Large Groups 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication Considering the “Free-Rider Problem” in Online Systems of Collective Action Communality and Discretionary Databases “Second-Order” Communality Communality: a public good derived from collecting, storing and sharing information resources among members. 11/9/2018 Computer-Mediated Communication